The woman who sat beside me on the plane is trembling and whispering
to the people beside her, no doubt telling them that I had seemed so
normal.
Dangerous psychos always seem so normal.
— Chapter 1

For the first time he’s not looking at me like I’m dangerous. He’s looking at me like I’m broken.
It’s a look I know too well.
— Chapter 1

There is hardly a better way to encourage readers to buy a book than by giving them a short snipped of the background story and then telling them that there is more. At least if this short appetiser is well-written. And for that purpose this story does its job exceptionally well. I’m quite certain that you will be able to read the main series without this background knowledge, but if you’re uncertain about the author and want to have a peek if you like the writing and basic story layout, this will give you an excellent idea of what it’s all about.

What is your stance on prequel shorts and the like? Do you like having additional information or does it clutter up a series unnecessarily? Let’s hear about your opinions and teasers in the comments.

“What?” My mother-in-law’s voice came out extra shrill to my ears. “That
creature’s staying?” It figured. Her daughter-in-law transforming into
an animal? No problem. Having to take care of a cat? Crisis.
— Chapter 2

“Is he right?” I asked quietly, once we’d put some distance between the guest cabin and us.
“That I’m a terrible liar? No. I’m a fantastic liar.”
— Chapter 10

Slight contrast programme to last week, but even I (especially) can’t read the heavy stuff all the time. Sometimes I need fluff and romance and sweet happy ends ... with some plot and everything still in moderation and with logic, if at all possible, most of the time. As this is the end of the series and in fact the end of the Vampire Academy universe (for now at least) there are certain expectations as to what will have to happen in this book. Some might call it fan service, but I think that there will still be a great deal of thing happening before that final chapter. I’m curious how the author will tie up the plot and say goodbye to the characters. I imagine that it wasn’t easy after 12 books in that universe.

Is there a series that has accompanied you for the better part of a decade (or longer)? Did it come to a conclusion you were satisfied with? Let’s hear from you in the comments.

It is just incredible that you can notice something like this when your face is so cold you can’t feel it any more, and you know perfectly well you are surrounded by death and the only way to stay alive is to endure the howling wind and stay on course. And still the sky is beautiful.
— Part 1, Chapter 3

I have scars that show and scars that don’t.
— Part 3, Chapter 2.2

My first Elizabeth Wein book was Code Name Verity which totally blindsided me and then utterly destroyed me with feelings. So going in for this companion, I already expected this to wreck me again ... and it did, just not in the way I thought I had prepared myself for. I admired the bravery and friendship in Verity, which was very much about individual resistance and personal acts of fighting and I don’t know what else to say ... if you haven’t read Verity, I am urging you to do so. And after you’ve recovered, come back for Rose.
This book perfectly highlights the desperate fight for hope and survival and showcases the little victories among so much fear and loss on the bigger scale of prisoner groups within the organised industrial mass murder. It shows the brutality and efficiency of Nazi prisoner warfare
from the very limited but still gruesome point of view of a prisoner who
fared comparatively well, all things considered. And still it made my heart ache how humans could do this to other humans ... and possibly still can, who knows what’s going on behind certain front lines, it makes me sick and (like Rose) so mad that people can become so inhuman. With just a very few carefully selected words Elizabeth Wein manages to make the characters in her books come to live in all their devastating, seemingly hopeless beauty and devastating cruelty alike. I sobbed for a character I had known for only a few paragraphs when it became clear that she wouldn’t survive, not just because I liked her, but also because it illustrates the unfairness and randomness of these deaths.
This year, there are a lot of ceremonies and memorial events for the liberation of the concentration camps and the end of World War II in general and while I don’t feel responsible for a war and crimes a generation older than my grandparents caused, I still think that it is important to remember and to bear witness. I think Rose or Verity would be a amazing school reads (or just important literature anyway, considering how school reading lists are selected), but sadly enough no German publisher has picked them up ... possibly for fear of there being too much aviation talk and condemnation of Germans in it, even if neither is the case.
I was lucky to be able to visit a reading by an Auschwitz survivor and to experience this amazing person still alive. Because the reality is that these people are dying of old age, but books like this can help to ensure that what they had to endure will never be forgotten. And hopefully also help that something like this will never happen again.

One day he’ll realize I'm his enemy, and all this will be a far-gone memory. But not yet.
— Chapter 14

I can’t believe I didn’t see him for what he was from the beginning: a
wolf in sheep’s clothing. And now I’m the sheep pretending to be a wolf.
— Chapter 24

Life isn’t about reaching the end in pristine condition with nary a scratch. Or so they say. If that is the case, I’d like to argue that neither is reading. You shouldn’t expect to reach the end of a book without having accepted some emotional punches in one way or another. This book is an especially adventurous reading rollercoaster. When you think you have figured out the motives of everyone they’ll more than likely blow up in your face. Anyone can betray anyone, as it says in the book ... and true to their word, they will. Even those who you think are a safe bet. A brilliant story with maybe one too many twist for me at the very end, but I’m more than excited to find out more in the next book.

Which book made you doubt your character understanding skills? Would you recommend it or rather say that it was causing you too much whiplash? Share your experiences and teasers in the comments.

Destiny is simply the intersection of hard work and opportunity – nothing more, nothing less. If you put your mind to something with the intent of pursuing the goal at all cost – you create your own destiny.
— Chapter 15

Wasn’t it you who said “better alive in Faerie than dead forever?” The boy won’t last much longer.
— Chapter 17

Onwards with conquering the Mount TBR! I have tackled a series of which I enjoyed the first book and then somehow didn’t get around to the sequels ... but now tackled is exactly the right description as I read all three back to back. Many series don’t hold up to such a reading marathon as they (often necessarily) need to be a bit repetitive to remind the reader of important background information an so on. In this series these repetitive elements are there if you know to look for them, but otherwise they are quite cleverly hidden in the text.
I love all things London, even the smoke-stained coal and poverty historical settings, at least to read about them ... possibly not so much in reality. And even if the setting more and more shifts from the city in the progression of the series, the overall feeling of the place still remains in the nature and behaviour of the characters. This series is for you if you like duckling to swan stories with some historical touches and don’t mind folktale faerie (not cute-sy Tinkerbell) magic backgrounds.

Do you have any finished series slumbering in your reading pile? Share them along with your teasers (and maybe tell me how you plan on reading them – all at once or in-between other books?).